Big bang for Indian shoppers on Dhanteras! Record sales of cars to shoes, 20% increase in festive retail sales

On the day of Dhanteras, consumers flock to retail stores to buy new cars, refrigerators, air conditioners, clothes and shoes. This helped companies and retailers to achieve the best single-day sales of the year, including in rural markets. Top executives of several companies said that due to this spurt in demand, sales across most categories have increased by 20 per cent in value terms and 5-8 per cent in volume terms during the festive season since Navratri, compared to the same period last year.

According to a market study, e-commerce orders have also increased by more than 20 percent. According to retailers, sales of smartphones, smart TVs and laptops were down. This year, their prices were hiked by up to 40 per cent, leading to a 15 per cent drop in their sales (in units), though in value terms, up by 10 per cent.

Heavy selling was seen in the auto sector.

According to the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA), car dealers in north India delivered nearly a month’s worth of vehicles to customers on Friday. However, during the festive season from Navratri to two weeks after Diwali, sales of total vehicles (cars, two-wheelers, three-wheelers, commercial vehicles and tractors) are likely to remain around last year’s levels.

Last year, after the GST rate cut, sales jumped 21%, making the base much higher. Sai Girdhar, president of FADA, said the stability of sales despite last year’s high base is a sign of good demand.

Major players in the market have registered strong growth, indicative of a broader improvement in consumption. India’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki said its retail sales rose 17% to 400,000 units between Ganesh Chaturthi and Dhanteras, compared to last year’s base. The company has orders pending for 253,000 cars and has 11 days worth of inventory.

Partho Banerjee, senior executive officer of Maruti Suzuki’s marketing and sales division, said the company will deliver more than 30,000 cars on Dhanteras. During the same period last year (in two days), 50,000 cars were delivered. Last year, Dhanteras lasted for two days, due to which the total number of deliveries was higher.

Overall, from Dhanteras to ‘Labh Pancham’ on November 14 – when the Diwali season ends – we will deliver over 70,000 vehicles this year, Banerjee said. This is a growth of 14-15% compared to the same period last year. He further said that currently there is a waiting period on almost all our models.

Big relief to retail sector amidst difficulties

LG Electronics India, the largest home appliance maker, also posted double-digit growth in value terms. Other companies such as Godrej Appliances reported over 50% growth in value, while Haier India reported around 30% growth in value and 10% in volume.

The surge in demand during the festive season – considered the biggest sales period in India – will bring a huge relief to companies and retailers. The relief comes at a time when the country is facing threats of low rainfall, high food inflation, instability over jobs in the IT sector, persistent geopolitical uncertainties and ‘El Nino’ ​​weather conditions.